Lameness is one of the most prevalent and underdiagnosed welfare problems in commercial pig production, causing chronic pain that affects behavior, feeding, and social life.
Chronic lameness in pigs causes persistent pain that alters virtually every aspect of daily life. Lame pigs are slower to access feed and water, lose body condition, and are less able to compete for resources in group housing. Social withdrawal and reluctance to move are behavioral indicators of pain that stockpeople can detect with training. The prey-species masking of pain means that visible lameness represents significant suffering — animals that show obvious signs are experiencing welfare problems that have been present, subclinically, for longer. Investment in floor surface quality, regular foot scoring, and prompt treatment of individual cases has measurable welfare and economic returns.